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Rockyview Farmhouse

The owners are organic gardeners and we use our produce in the dining room. From the breakfast room there is a view of the Burren and in our field there are cows and sheep and in Summer a couple of horses and foals.

The local pub is 6 kms from us as is Vascoe's Restaurant. They have an interesting menu and an Eco Adventure centre. O'Donohues pub serves very good food and evening meals.

Special diets are catered for and this is a non-smoking house but guests may smoke outside. Guests also have use of the gardens and children may use our trampoline (which is buried in the ground for safety).

The Blackhead Burren walk begins at the top of our road. The seaside town of Ballyvaughan is just twenty minutes drive or a half days walk over the hills.

Ballyvaughan is a beautiful village with some nice pubs and craft shops (check out the tourist information centre and craft shop behind the Spar food store and look for Tim Robinsons map of the Burren). On Saturdays in summer there is a great Farmers market in the village centre and on Sundays a craft fair.

In fact, our house is used as a midway point for many people who walk The Burren Way from Doolin to Ballyvaughan. Just drop down the Caher Valley and we are signposted at the main road. Shannon Airport is a 90-minute drive and Ennis one hours drive. Kinvara, which is on the way to Galway, is another pretty town and worth a visit, park down by the pier and stroll around.

Lahinch (famous for its surfing beaches and reefs and for golf) and Ennistymon 30 minutes. Poulnabrone dolmen which dates back to 3,800 BC is a short drive from Ballyvaughan and close to Caherconnell fort which is open to the public, the centre at Caherconnell has a coffee shop and the fort is well worth a visit.

The Ailwee cave is nearby and is open year round. Kilfenora is a short drive and there is an interpretative centre in the village and well worth a visit to get to understand the Burren and its history.

Doolin has traditional music nightly in all four pubs and has many restaurants. The Doolin Cave which has recently opened to the public has one of the largest free hanging stalactites in the world. Ferry boats go from Doolin to all three islands and with one company you can buy a ticket for a day tour to the Aran islands and a cruise under the famous Cliffs of Moher. The new visitor centre at the Cliffs of Moher opened in spring 2007

Ennistymon is the largest town locally and its shop fronts and pubs are the feature of a poster. The market on Tuesday morning is an interesting time to visit.